Val's 55gal Freshwater planted community tank

Val

Val

Member
This tank is about a year old now. Two months ago I quit work and needed somthing to do so I started introducing new plants so I can decide which ones I like. I'm testing out new equipment also just added a t5ho lighting system and am trying to get some color out of the live plants.

It's been a while since I've added pics to a forum so hopefully these will show up.

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Val

Val

Member
Thanks Eddie, I admit I was a bit intimidated about posting it. I've been reading/studying this forum for a while and am realizing I have alot to learn yet about freshwater. I'm taking notes and hope to have a reef started within the next couple of months. I've decided to learn to the equipment setup and what all the equipment does first. In the meantime I'll play with this one until I get it where I like it.
 
R

redsea reefer

Well-Known Member
Your welcome Val!

Research is your best friend in this hobby and when there is something your not sure of, ask away here.
 
WayneT

WayneT

Member
Beautiful tank Val. One of these days I'm going to try one in the den if the boss will let me.
 
PEMfish

PEMfish

Well-Known Member
I like it. Is everything real?

FW is a good place to start. Hope fully you can get that SW going soon enough, its a bigger challenge but alot of fun- especially a reef.
 
Val

Val

Member
Thanks WayneT and PEMfish, all the plants are live plants. The rock and the grayish colored driftwood are not real, (the plants don't realize this they still attach to them). I bought them at a local pet store. They work for now until I can find some stone or driftwood I can do something with.
 
PEMfish

PEMfish

Well-Known Member
Tell us more about your equipment Val. How many bulbs is the fixture. SLR? Its HO, right? Etc...
 
Val

Val

Member
The light is made by Aquaticlife. It comes with (2) 48" 54W Actinic
(2) 48" 54W 10,000°K and 4 LED Lunar lights. Has a built in timer, actually three timers, one for 10k, one for Actinic and one for the LED's. Three built in fans are part of the setup.

I'm just running the 10k's and LEDs right now (the LED's kick on when the 10k goes out, it's a dark blueish light). I don't think it helps the plants or fish it's just a nice effect. The only thing I don't like about this light is it's so wide it's hard to open the glass canopy for cleaning, water changes etc. I'd like to find a two bulb T5HO w/leds system similar to this one for the fresh tank before I start another tank.

It's a Rena cannister filter xp2, I think it's rated for 300gph. Rena heater that fits over the filter intake, streamlines things a bit. A cheap adhesive thermometer and a few air stones that rarely get used.
 
PEMfish

PEMfish

Well-Known Member
All you need to do is replace that actinic bulb and then you'll have yourself a FW light. The chief difference between FW and SW lighting is the color temp of the bulbs. Get a 7 or 10k bulb in there so you can use the whole fixture.
I'll link to a couple of bulbs here but word of caution; do NOT order bulbs from foster and smith, they do not know how to package them, they will break in transit, it happened to me 4 times over! The place I would recomend died so I dont know where to get bulbs anymore, but any of our small scale sponsors should be ok.

This one has a bit of a pinkish glow;
Aquarium Lighting: AquaSun 10000°K T-5 HO Fluorescent Tubes
I like UV lighting company better than any other brand bulb I have ever used before.

other possibilities;
Fish & Aquarium Supplies: T-5 HO Fluorescent Tubes

Our sponsors;
http://www.reefsanctuary.com/index.php?page=sponsors
 
Val

Val

Member
Thanks for the tip about Foster & Smith. That's where this light came from. I was thinking about going to a two bulb system for this tank. This light has 4 bulbs and that makes it hard to feed. The glass canopy can only raise an inch or two so I have to remove it just to feed the fish. I could hang the light but I think I'd rather use this one for the reef tank. As bright as these lights are wouldn't a two bulb system be enough?
 
PEMfish

PEMfish

Well-Known Member
Sure, its possible to do a two bulb fixture, but more is better. I've got 6 T5 HO`s running over my 65g planted.
 
Val

Val

Member
I wonder if the lunar leds affect algae growth? I've got a serious algae bloom right now. I've cut back on the 10k's light time, stopped using the moonlights unless someone wants to watch the tank at night and bought 3 more otto's. I've tested the water and it's 0 ammonia, 0 nitrates and 0 nitrites. That's testing in the evening, I may test in the am tomorrow and see if it comes up different then.

I really hate this too, was just starting to see color on the new growth.
 
minicrazy592

minicrazy592

Member
UV Powerhead filter, more CO2, and more flow. That combination cleared up all the algae in my 10g tank. It had a bloom during Spring Break while I was gone. I did the blackout method for a week with minimal results, so I gave it a long thought as to why my tank was kinda funny. I knew never dosed before, over feed, over stock, extended light periods, and I had perfect parameters. Nothing made sense, so I looked at successful tanks. All either had that above exact arrangement or pieces of it and their tanks were crystal clear.

Maybe worth a shot? :lurk:
 
Val

Val

Member
I don't use co2, the system has been pretty stable for the last year. I did upgrade to the t5ho w/lunar lights. That is the only thing that has changed. That's why I'm thinking they have something to do with the bloom.

I'm running them 2 hrs less a day and added more ottos.... talk about some fat ottos. lol I have to pick up the new tank today so I may look into some shrimp while I'm there. I have been keeping the tank scraped and cleaned the filter ahead of schedule. The filter really wasn't bad.

You may have something with the flow, the plants in the main flow aren't as covered with algae as the others. I may have to increase the flow.

thanks Mini!
 
Val

Val

Member
I moved that t5ho lights over to the new reef tank and my algae problem cleared up. I'll get another set of T5HO lights but I think I'm going to drop down to a 2 light instead of the 4 light I was using before.
 
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